Referees confirmed for semifinals
All BlacksOctober 18, 2023
Australian referee Angus Gardner will referee the Rugby World Cup semifinal between the All Blacks and Argentina in Paris on Saturday (NZT).
New Zealander Ben O'Keeffe will referee the England-South Africa game on Sunday (NZT).
Fellow New Zealanders Paul Williams and Brendon Pickerill will be O'Keeffe's assistant referee and TMO, respectively.
Gardner will have fellow Australian Nic Berry and England's Karl Dickson as assistant referees, with Welshman Ben Whitehouse as TMO.
O'Keeffe and Gardner will referee their first Rugby World Cup semifinals, while Gardner is making his first appearance in a Cup knockout game.
It will be the fifth time he has refereed the All Blacks against Argentina, including earlier this year when New Zealand won their Rugby Championship game 41-12 in Mendoza.
For O'Keeffe, it will be the second time he has refereed England against South Africa. The first was in 2018, when South Africa won 42-39.
South African referee Jaco Peyper was not considered for the games due to the calf injury he suffered during the Argentina-Wales quarterfinal at the weekend.
